back to the chipping, there's a few firsts for me on this one-
1. I thought I'd try a Marquesan style carving for a channge
2. I'm going to to start with a round 'log' shape piece of wood rather than my usual block
3. First try of the knives recommended to me by Alohastation, you find them here if you're based in the UK-
http://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/warren-carving-kit---7-bladed-2374-p.asp

The wood is from a mixed pack I got from a wood turner who had to stop cos of bad health. There was a weird pattern (I don't know the technical term) engraved on the surface-

So I sawed a piece off and started cutting off the bumps and roughing out shapes-

I decided to leave some of the grooves in, maybe they can become part of the design, otherwise I'll take them out later...

The loops on the back are not symmetrical, I assumed there was an even number of 'bands' cut into the wood when I started and used these as guide to draw...turns out there were 15 but I didn't notice until well into the carve, duh.